10 years of the Exercise Hub

Beccy Oliver and Dr Julie Jones have been involved with the Exercise Hub since its inception. Back in 2015, they, along with a small group of passionate and dedicated physiotherapists, founded the Hub with the aim of bringing exercise professionals closer together. 

They had identified a gap in knowledge and expertise and wanted to raise the profile of physical activity and exercise provision for people with Parkinson's. The group assembled under the leadership of Julie Jones, Beccy Oliver, Dr Katherine Baker, Dr Bhanu Ramaswamy OBE and Fiona Lindop MBE and the Exercise Hub was born!

Over the last decade, the Exercise Hub has grown into a vibrant community of over 800 therapists and exercise professionals led by Julie and Beccy. It has continued to grow in membership and popularity and has achieved many brilliant milestones. From creating the first Parkinson’s UK Exercise framework for professionals, winning the 2023 Excellence Network Awards Community support award, to setting up their famous monthly ‘Zoominar’ series. And for the last 4 years, they’ve gathered around 100 plus Exercise Hub members together in person for their annual study day, a high-energy packed day of learning, knowledge sharing and networking.

After 10 years at the helm, Beccy and Julie have made the decision to step down and pass the baton on to new leadership. From January 2026, Dr Sophia Hulbert,  Clinical Academic Physiotherapist at the University of Plymouth and Emma Bracher, Independent Occupational Therapist, will be jointly leading the Exercise Hub. 

Sophia and Emma said:

 ''We feel incredibly honoured to be taking over the reins from such a legacy of time, energy and achievement founded by Beccy, Julie, Katherine, Bhanu, Fiona and all the previous Hub members. 

''We’re excited to help continue the fantastic education and networking opportunities that the Hub has created, as well as the friendships and support. We will do our best to look after it!''

Anna Castiaux, Physical Activity Programme Lead at Parkinson’s UK, said: 

''The Exercise Hub has shown what’s possible when passionate professionals come together — turning a small idea into a thriving community that’s transformed exercise support for people with Parkinson’s and helped shape Parkinson’s UK’s physical activity strategy into the strong, evidence-driven programme it is today. 

''The invaluable expertise of the Hub has created exercise content and resources that help people with Parkinson’s every day, from written resources to exercise videos and much more.''

Juliet Tizzard, Director of External Relations at Parkinson’s UK, said: 

''A huge thank you from all of us at Parkinson’s UK to Beccy and Julie for their hard work, passion and dedication to making the Exercise Hub the thriving, active community it is today. 

''Thanks to them and everyone involved from the very start, we now have a dedicated space for exercise professionals to learn from each other, build strong networks and share best practice around exercise in Parkinson’s. Their combined expertise and energy help people with Parkinson’s live well. 

As Beccy and Julie hand over the reins to Sophia and Emma, we can’t wait to see where they take the Exercise Hub next!"